STATISTICS / FEES
Entrance fees lagged inflation — except at Acadia and Everglades
Nine parks raised the 7-day vehicle fee from $30 to $35 in June 2018, a 16.7% rise. Consumer prices rose 33.7% from June 2018 to September 2026, so a $30 fee then would be $40.11 now. Those nine parks charge $5.11 less than inflation. Acadia and Everglades rose from $25 to $35 (40%), $1.57 ahead of inflation.
Updated . Fees from the NPS API and park fee pages, October 2026. Inflation from BLS CPI-U through September 2026.
Main numbers
- $35 vs $40.11What the nine June-2018 parks charge now, against what their $30 fee would be at CPI inflation (+33.7%).
- $1.57 aheadAcadia and Everglades rose $25 to $35 (40%). Their $25 fee from 2018 would be $33.43 at inflation.
- 35 of 63 parkscharge a vehicle fee ($20 to $35). 5 charge per person only ($7 to $15). 23 charge no entrance fee.
- $100 at 11 parksNon-US residents 16 and over pay an extra $100 per person since 1 January 2026, unless they hold an annual pass. See who pays.
How far each $35 fee sits from inflation
Each bar shows the $35 vehicle fee minus the inflation-adjusted June 2018 fee. Bars left of the line lagged inflation (green). Bars right of the line outpaced it (amber). Sequoia and Kings Canyon share one fee area.
All 63 national parks
Vehicle and per-person fees are 7-day passes from the NPS fee data, October 2026. "Jun 2018" is the vehicle fee before the June 2018 increase wave, for the parks that now charge $35. "$35 since" is when the park reached $35. Where np.guide has a field guide for the park, the park name is a link to it. Select a column name to sort the table.
Download the data as CSV (same columns).
| Park | Vehicle ▲ | Per person | Jun 2018 | $35 since | $100 fee |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Biscayne | — | — | — | — | — |
| Gates of the Arctic | — | — | — | — | — |
| Wrangell-St. Elias | — | — | — | — | — |
| Glacier Bay | — | — | — | — | — |
| Great Basin | — | — | — | — | — |
| Wind Cave | — | — | — | — | — |
| Great Smoky Mountains | — | — | — | — | — |
| Guadalupe Mountains | — | $10 | — | — | — |
| New River Gorge | — | — | — | — | — |
| Hot Springs | — | — | — | — | — |
| Isle Royale | — | $7 | — | — | — |
| Gateway Arch | — | — | — | — | — |
| Katmai | — | — | — | — | — |
| Kenai Fjords | — | — | — | — | — |
| Voyageurs | — | — | — | — | — |
| Kobuk Valley | — | — | — | — | — |
| Lake Clark | — | — | — | — | — |
| Mammoth Cave | — | — | — | — | — |
| Redwood | — | — | — | — | — |
| Virgin Islands | — | — | — | — | — |
| Carlsbad Caverns | — | $15 | — | — | — |
| Channel Islands | — | — | — | — | — |
| Congaree | — | — | — | — | — |
| Cuyahoga Valley | — | — | — | — | — |
| Denali | — | $15 | — | — | — |
| National Park of American Samoa | — | — | — | — | — |
| Dry Tortugas | — | $15 | — | — | — |
| North Cascades | — | — | — | — | — |
| Capitol Reef | $20 | $10 | — | — | — |
| Great Sand Dunes | $25 | $15 | — | — | — |
| White Sands | $25 | $15 | — | — | — |
| Indiana Dunes | $25 | $15 | — | — | — |
| Petrified Forest | $25 | $15 | — | — | — |
| Saguaro | $25 | $15 | — | — | — |
| Shenandoah | $30 | $15 | — | — | — |
| Theodore Roosevelt | $30 | $15 | — | — | — |
| Mesa Verde | $30 | $15 | — | — | — |
| Pinnacles | $30 | $15 | — | — | — |
| Mount Rainier | $30 | $15 | — | — | — |
| Olympic | $30 | $15 | — | — | — |
| Lassen Volcanic | $30 | $15 | — | — | — |
| Joshua Tree | $30 | $15 | — | — | — |
| Hawaii Volcanoes | $30 | $15 | — | — | — |
| Haleakala | $30 | $15 | — | — | — |
| Death Valley | $30 | $15 | — | — | — |
| Crater Lake | $30 | $15 | — | — | — |
| Canyonlands | $30 | $15 | — | — | — |
| Black Canyon of the Gunnison | $30 | $15 | — | — | — |
| Big Bend | $30 | $15 | — | — | — |
| Badlands | $30 | $15 | — | — | — |
| Arches | $30 | $15 | — | — | — |
| Yellowstone | $35 | $20 | $30 | 2018-06-01 | Yes |
| Yosemite | $35 | $20 | $30 | 2018-06-01 | Yes |
| Zion | $35 | $20 | $30 | 2018-06-01 | Yes |
| Sequoia | $35 | $20 | $30 | 2018-06-01 | Yes |
| Rocky Mountain | $35 | $20 | $30 | 2018-06-01 | Yes |
| Kings Canyon | $35 | $20 | $30 | 2018-06-01 | Yes |
| Grand Teton | $35 | $20 | $30 | 2018-06-01 | Yes |
| Grand Canyon | $35 | $20 | $30 | 2018-06-01 | Yes |
| Glacier | $35 | $20 | $30 | 2018-06-01 | Yes |
| Everglades | $35 | $20 | $25 | 2024-01-01 | Yes |
| Bryce Canyon | $35 | $20 | $30 | 2018-06-01 | Yes |
| Acadia | $35 | $20 | $25 | 2023-04-01 | Yes |
Who pays the $100 nonresident fee
Since 1 January 2026, each non-US resident aged 16 or older pays an extra $100 per person on top of the standard entrance fee at 11 parks: Acadia, Bryce Canyon, Everglades, Glacier, Grand Canyon, Grand Teton, Rocky Mountain, Sequoia & Kings Canyon, Yellowstone, Yosemite, and Zion. The fee is waived for visitors admitted with an annual or America the Beautiful pass. Those 11 parks drew 38.55 million recreation visits in 2025.
- Yellowstone: about 17% of surveyed visitors came from abroad, or roughly 0.81 million of its 4,762,988 2025 visits. A rough estimate; see methodology.
- Yosemite: about 25% of surveyed visitors came from abroad, or roughly 1.07 million of its 4,278,413 2025 visits. A rough estimate; see methodology.
- Grand Canyon: about 31% of surveyed visitors came from abroad, or roughly 1.37 million of its 4,430,653 2025 visits. A rough estimate; see methodology.
Nationally, 35% of international air travelers visited National Parks or Monuments in the second quarter of 2024 (NTTO Survey of International Air Travelers). The top 2024 source markets for park visits were the United Kingdom (1.8 million), Germany (1 million), France (901,000), Brazil (876,000), and Australia (726,000).
Methodology
- Current fees: NPS API park data pulled 26 October 2026, checked against the fee pages of all 11 $35 parks read the same day. The range is $20 (Capitol Reef) to $35 for vehicles and $7 (Isle Royale) to $15 for per-person entry.
- Four parks vary the vehicle fee by season (Crater Lake, Lassen Volcanic, Mesa Verde, Rocky Mountain). The table uses the peak-season fee.
- History: nine areas rose $30 to $35 on 1 June 2018 (NPS: +$5 at most fee parks, after the October 2017 proposal for $70 peak-season fees at 17 parks was dropped). Acadia rose $30 to $35 on 1 April 2023 (NPS release), after $25 to $30 in 2018. Everglades rose $30 to $35 on 1 January 2024 (NPS release), after $25 to $30 in January 2019.
- Inflation: BLS Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), June 2018 (251.989) to September 2026 (336.940), the latest month published. Ratio 1.3371.
- Gateway Arch has no entrance fee; its $19 tram ride is not entrance. Sequoia and Kings Canyon are separate IRMA visit units but share one $35 fee area, so the $100 surcharge covers 11 fee areas and 12 visit units.
- Affected-visitor estimates multiply 2025 IRMA recreation visits (entries) by the international share of surveyed visitors: Yellowstone 17% (summer 2016 NPS visitor use study), Yosemite 25% (summer 2009 NPS visitor study), Grand Canyon 31% (NPS socioeconomic monitoring pilot, about 2018). The shares are dated and measure people, not entries, so the products are rough.
Sources
- NPS entrance fees by park. Current fee list, including the 11 parks with the $100 nonresident fee (updated 1 January 2026).
- NPS, Grand Canyon fee change. Example of the 1 June 2018 increase to $35 (12 April 2018).
- NPS, Acadia fee increase. $30 to $35 from 1 April 2023 (28 March 2023).
- NPS, Everglades fee increase. $30 to $35 from 1 January 2024 (4 December 2023).
- BLS Consumer Price Index. CPI-U series CUUR0000SA0 via the BLS public API.
- NPS Visitor Use Statistics (IRMA). Annual recreation visits per park.
- NTTO travel market profiles. 2024 overseas-visitor activity data from the Survey of International Air Travelers.
- NPS, Yosemite park statistics. Summer 2009 visitor study (25% international).
Cite this page
np.guide. "Entrance fees vs inflation at each national park." Updated 26 October 2026. https://np.guide/statistics/entrance-fees-vs-inflation
Quotable summaries
Nine national parks raised entrance fees from $30 to $35 in 2018; at inflation the fee would be $40.11 today.
Acadia and Everglades raised entrance fees from $25 to $35, slightly ahead of inflation.
23 of the 63 national parks charge no entrance fee.
Since January 2026, non-US residents 16 and over pay an extra $100 per person at 11 national parks.